ARC
by Harmonious Arkos Sloth
Summary: Jaune has always considered himself a "glass half full" kind of guy. When his memories are lost, perhaps he'll finally be able to live up to his potential? A bowl is most useful when it's empty after all. Armed with his wits, and sick dance moves, he and his friends may just save Remnant and make some brand new memories along the way.


_**ARC**_

Jaune awoke slowly, the white ceiling of the infirmary coming into focus as he sat up. He blinked, and massaged his temples trying to clear the cobwebs of deep slumber from his brain. _'My tongue feels like sandpaper, and I am thirsty enough to drink a whole river…'_

There was a sudden shift of movement across the room, and Jaune tried his best to brace for the coming impact as he was nearly lifted bodily from his bed and trapped in the vice grip of a strange pink blur.

"YAY! Fearless Leader, you're awake! Ohmigosh, I'm so glad your noodley face is all in one piece! That Dust explosion in the forge was really pretty, but I guess you didn't have time to see it, being passed out and all!"

The nameless pink blur began to spin him around as she said all this, incredibly enough in a single breath. Jaune's stomach began to rebel almost immediately and he had a moment to wonder where he should turn his head so that he wasn't sick on anyone, when he felt himself gently lowered to the ground by another pair of hands, and given a glass of water.

"Nora, he just woke up. Give Jaune a chance to get his bearings before you catch him up on everything, okay? He's going to need a few minutes to adjust after being unconscious for a full day."

"Oops! Sorry, Ren!" The boy smiled slightly as he took Jaune's now empty cup of water and placed it on the stand by his hospital bed. "It's okay, Nora. Just be more careful with our squishy leader, okay?"

Nora giggled. Now that he had a bit of fluid, and his stomach didn't feel like it was leaping out of his throat, Jaune could get a good look at the two people in the room with him.

The boy, Ren, had the wiry, athletic build of a martial artist. The green waistcoat and breathable white pants that lent themselves to easy movement supported this. His complexion, sharper facial features, and dark hair meant he wouldn't stand out much anywhere on the continent of Anima, were it not for the lock of pink in his hair.

In contrast, Nora was more overtly muscular, built for sheer power instead of speed, and looked like she could crush rocks with her bare hands. Her bright pink skirt, ginger colored hair, and mischievous smile were a strangely fitting combination on such a strong girl.

Ren cleared his throat as he led Nora back to the chairs they were previously occupying by the door. "We're very glad you're awake Jaune. Pyrrha should be back with the doctor shortly, and should be able to get you a bit of food from the kitchen in the dorms."

Jaune had a moment to sit comfortably on his bed when the door suddenly opened, admitting a statuesque redhead that scanned the room fully before her green eyes settled on Jaune. Her gaze brightened considerably. She smiled widely as she took in the fact that he was awake and well enough to move around. Every piece of metal in the room seemed to glow black very briefly and give a strange shake before settling down again.

"Jaune!"

She said his name in a tone that was somehow a chimeric mix of relief, surprise, joy, and a few other things that Jaune couldn't identify. Her radiant smile, her focused gaze, and the joyous tone with which she said his name made for quite the alluring image.

It was one of the most beautiful things Jaune Arc had ever seen, and when confronted with beauty that captivated him, the young man reacted by instinct, and used his considerable vocabulary to describe the amazing beauty that enamored him so in the most flattering way he could think of.

"Do you have a band-aid?"

Pyrrha's gaze went from joyous to concerned and slightly confused. "Umm…no?"

"That's a shame because I scraped my knee falling for you."

The silence in the room was stifling in its awkwardness.

Luckily it was quickly broken by Nora who had retrieved her scroll from somewhere and was using it to take video of the socially awkward half of her team.

Ren felt it wise to at least _try_ to make her stop. "Nora, you shouldn't take video of Jaune and Pyrrha that could be really embarrassing…"

Nora merely waved away his concerns with her free hand. "Quiet, Renny. I've waited months for a situation like this, and I don't care if it's head trauma or medication side-effects that get these two to stop dancing around each other. This. Is. Happening."

On the other side of the room, Jaune and Pyrrha were currently engaged in a silent contest to who can blush the brightest red. Pyrrha was currently winning with a flush that almost matched her hair.

Jaune was growing rather concerned by the lack of response. ' _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Well, the confident, direct approach didn't work, time to try something else. Let's get poetic…"_

Jaune cleared his throat and put on his best smile, which still looked a bit nervous. "Your hair is more beautiful that the brightest bougainvillea blossom, and your eyes are greener than a meadow in spring. We should go out sometime…" He finished this sweeping declaration with a wink and the point of twin finger guns.

Camera still rolling, Nora looked as though Dustmas had come early as she fished a small, red pennant out of her pocket and began to wave it around while she continued to do her best to immortalize the next few minutes. Ren glanced over and could only muster the energy to spare for a single thought. ' _What's an Arkos?'_

Meanwhile, Pyrrha's blush seemed to be making a valiant effort to try to encompass the rest of her body. She glanced to her left, toward the door, to make certain that Weiss hadn't managed to enter the room without anyone knowing. Pyrrha's mind raced.

"What were you looking at?"

"Pardon?"

"Just now, you were looking toward the door like you were looking for something." Pyrrha chuckled as she tried to avert her gaze from her partner once again.

"Oh, nothing really. I was checking to make sure Weiss had not entered the room. I thought you might have been talking to her."

Jaune's head tilted slightly, eyes wide in confusion, not unlike a puppy. Pyrrha had to fight the sudden urge to squeal and pet his head for the absolute adorableness. Warriors did _not_ squeal.

Jaune's confusion was still evident as he addressed her. "Weiss?"

Pyrrha's embarrassment, and fight for control of her blush made her dismiss the questioning tone. "Yes, Jaune, I thought you might have been asking her out on a date."

The blonde nodded. "No, I was definitely asking out the prettiest girl on Remnant," his own blush began to make a reappearance, "that is…if you want to."

Pyrrha could hardly believe her own ears, and this time, the battle to maintain her composure was that much harder.

' _He wants to go out with me! Yes! I've been dropping hints for weeks now!'_ Pyrrha's response was immediate and enthusiastic. "Jaune, I think going out with you would be grand!"

The duo's attempts to out blush each other were interrupted by Nora's sudden squeal of excitement. Jaune and Pyrrha looked over to see Nora waving a little red pennant and practically dancing in her seat as she babbled about something called an Arkos, whatever that was. Beside her, Ren was also holding an Arkos pennant, while attempting to fall asleep in the uncomfortable chair. He was succeeding.

"Ohmigosh, guys, I'm so happy for you!" Nora was so caught up in her enthusiasm that she grabbed both her team mates in a rather enthusiastic hug and was spinning them around as she giggled.

Jaune almost immediately felt his ribs begin to protest. "Nora…can't…breathe!" Nora just giggled more as she put them down. "Oops, sorry Fearless Leader! Seriously though, I'm so glad you two are finally together-together! Now I won't have to knock you out with Magnhild and lock you in a closet until you talk about your obvious attraction for each other after waiting an entire semester!"

Pyrrha immediately began to protest, not over the attraction, which was obvious, but of Nora just being so Nora about it. The metal in the room began to shake again. Nora just kept giggling.

Beside them, Jaune was struggling to fight down his rising panic, his face paling as he tried to calm his rising heart rate. Ren was the first to notice. "Jaune, do you need to lay back down?"

Jaune nodded shakily as he made his way back to the hospital bed and practically collapsed onto it as he sat down. Pyrrha was immediately beside him, offering a cup of water and a comforting hand on the small of his back. "Jaune, what is it? What's wrong?"

The blonde began to take deep, calming breaths as he got his heart rate under control. The rest of the group had gathered around him now, and he gave them an awkward grin that did nothing to assuage their worried looks. "Nora, have we really been at Beacon an entire semester?"

Nora nodded. "Almost, Jaune-y. Our two-week break starts Monday, and then we'll be in our second semester."

Jaune nodded as his thoughts began to jumble further in a confusing mess. ' _Stupid. I should've noticed earlier. Everyone is way too casual with each other.'_

Jaune did his best to put up another brave face to soften the impact of his next words. "Well guys, we have a problem, because as far as I can remember, I've just met you today. I have no idea who you are…"

 **XXX**

After calming down Nora, Ren left with her to retrieve the doctor that was treating Jaune, leaving him with a very subdued Pyrrha Nikos that looked like someone that had just been told cocoa beans had gone extinct. Luckily, the pair found the woman quickly, and after a brief checkup, she reassured the team that everything was going to be fine.

"This sort of thing happens sometimes when we treat such extensive Dust related injuries. Between the Dust in his system, the drugs we used to treat Mr. Arc's injuries, and the nature of those injuries, temporary memory loss is common. Mr. Arc should be fully back to normal soon-ish. It could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. However, if you want to expedite the process, I would suggest immersing Mr. Arc in things that he would enjoy and you know are important to him. The memories will return on their own."

Jaune himself wasn't entirely convinced, but decided to do his best to help the situation along by going back to the dorms with his team. The JNPR dorm was just as the team left it: organized chaos. Nora's rumpled blankets and plethora of pillows dominated her bed to the far right, interspersed with a few spent grenade shells under it. Ren's bed was of course neatly made, the sunlight from the open window between their beds highlighted his freshly turned down sheets.

Jaune's bed was also neatly made, aside from the black hoodie hanging from the bedpost, and the folded piece of blue fabric resting on his pillows. On the wall above his bed was a poster of a sloth clinging to a tree that read _Hang in There!_ Pyrrha's bed was immaculate, her favorite red and gold quilt folded at the foot of her bed. Still uncertain about how much this was going to help, Jaune sat on his bed and did his best not to have a meltdown in front of his newest acquaintances until the folded piece of fabric on his pillow caught his eye. Out of curiosity, he unfolded it only to stare in growing horror at the monstrosity in front of him.

"Um, guys? I know I can't remember much other than my name and the fact that I'm training to be a Huntsman right now, but I'm pretty sure I'm seventeen and not seven, right?"

At Ren's confirming nod, he continued, "So why by Oum would I wear pajamas that looked like _this_? Jaune held up the pair of baby blue footie pajamas, glaring at them like they were the source of all the Grimm on Remnant. "I mean, we're friends, right? I'm supposedly the leader of our team, why would you let me wear something so…"

Nora, Ren and Pyrrha all tried to speak at the same time, eager to help their leader understand the horrors of fashion that onesie had inflicted upon them.

"Hilarious?"

"Childish?"

"Good for freedom of movement?"

Pyrrha tried, she really did. Sadly, outside of training, it was not easy for her to break her ingrained politeness to offer criticism, at least to Jaune, since he struggled so much with his confidence.

"Yes! All of that! All of those things you just said!"

Nora giggled again. "Well, we would've burned it by now, but your little sisters picked it out for you and wanted you to wear it to Beacon. You wore it that first night out of obligation, and then kept wearing it because it was ' _super comfortable and made you stealthy like a pajama ninja'_ whatever that it."

"I believe it's a children's television show," Ren offered helpfully. "though that doesn't explain why you would want to _be_ one."

"I have absolutely no idea…" Jaune groaned, burying his face in the affront to fashion he held in his hands. "Wait, I have sisters?"

In answer to his question, Pyrrha grabbed his scroll from their shared nightstand and held it out to him. "You have several pictures on your scroll. Maybe they'll jog your memory?"

Jaune took the scroll, and began to scan the pictures. Most were of himself and the rest of his team, others were of them and a group of four other girls. The new girls looked familiar, and he had a vague sense that he _should_ know them apart from the fact that their picture was on his scroll, but aside from their obvious beauty, nothing seemed to be coming to him.

It wasn't until he got to the last album of pictures on his scroll that his memory began to stir. In one of the pictures, a set of twin girls with green eyes and hair that matched his smiled for the camera with matching icing stained cheeks. Jaune let out a gasp.

Instantly the rest of JNPR crowded around, trying to see what picture he was looking at. "Rawaya…" Jaune muttered, pointing to the twin on the right, "Flava…"

As important as this moment was, Nora couldn't let it go without sating her curiosity. "How can you tell them apart?"

Jaune laughed at that, the memory coming to him easily now. "Rawaya always crinkles her nose when she smiles really wide like that. She says she's smiling like a bunny rabbit. This was their eighth birthday party, and they demolished their birthday cake in almost a single sitting. It was impressive and mildly terrifying to behold their sugar rush."

Everyone smiled at that. They were all glad memories were beginning to return to the leader of team JNPR, and hoped this meant a quick return to normalcy. Jaune laughed again as he pointed to another picture of the twins presenting him with a neatly wrapped gift box. "This is the onesie here. They gave me it right before I left for Beacon. Now can you see why I wore it? Say no to those faces in person. I dare you."

"They are rather adorable. I'm not certain I would be able to turn them down if they asked me to wear a onesie." Pyrrha said as she laughed. "now wearing it more than once on the other hand, they aren't _that_ cute."

"They're almost as cute as sloths!" Nora exclaimed, as she began to bounce on her bed, "we should get a picture of them holding sloths! It would be the most adorable thing _ever,_ and we can make them our official Team JNPR mascots! We'll win all our fights because our enemies will be too distracted by the cuteness!"

"Nora, as team leader, I'm ordering no weaponization of my sisters' cuteness for fun and profit. That way lies madness. Do you want us all to be wearing onesies?"

The hammer wielding member of their team let out a horrified gasp at that as images of their team fighting in the VYTL Festival in matching onesies like the world's most campy superhero team came to mind.

She practically teleported to his side, clutching onto Jaune much like a sloth as she nearly wept in her sudden hysteria. "I'm so sorry Jaune! I didn't think! Yes, we would be powerful, but at what cost?! At what _cost?_ "

The blonde just smiled. It's alright, Nora. There will be no matching onesies, and if it helps, I won't wear this onesie either, even if I can't just throw it out, okay?"

Nora sniffled as she looked at Jaune, eyes wide and bright, "You promise?"

Jaune smiled. "Yes, Nora. I promise."

The Valkyrie immediately detached from his neck, giggling, and smiling as she practically vibrated in place with excitement. "Yay! Ren, we should have a pancake feast to celebrate! Jaune-y is getting his memories back and the evil pajama monstrosity has been banished!"

Ren tried to protest, but the hopeful look Nora sent him just made him sigh as he trudged over to their tiny kitchenette and started preparing ingredients.

"I may not remember much, but I have the sinking suspicion that I just got played for pancakes."

Pyrrha giggled as she placed a comforting hand on her partner's shoulder. "If it helps, we've all been used as pawns at some point in Nora's quest for pancakes."

"Well, maybe a little." Jaune stated, as he turned to face his partner.

"Jaune?"

Yes, Pyrrha?" The Mistral champion had to fight to control her rising blush. Jaune was very close and smiling, focused on her in a way she had rarely seen from him outside of training.

"I think we should go into Vale tomorrow, visit a few places and see if that helps your memories return. If seeing a picture of your sisters helped you remember them, visiting places you enjoy may help as well."

"OOHH! That's a great idea! I need more oil for Magnhild, and we can go see the sloth exhibit at the zoo! Pleeaase, Renny? Can we go?" Nora sat at the team's small dining table, fork, and knife in hand as she eagerly awaited her promised tribute of sugary pancake goodness.

Ren sighed as he considered it for a moment. "Well, we _will_ need to restock our pancake and syrup supplies after tonight."

"YES!" Nora cheered as she began to hum happily, already planning their trip in her head.

Jaune sighed. "Well I guess that settles it then. Even if I didn't want to go, you guys would probably just mutiny and drag me along anyway. Looks like Team JNPR is going to Vale tomorrow!"

The others cheered; or rather Nora and Pyrrha cheered. Ren merely smirked as he continued to plate several stacks of pancakes.

Soon, the team was gathered around their small dining table, chatting, and relaxing as they dined on pancakes. Once the food comas started to settle in, the Hunters-in-training made an early night of it. They had planned a full day of fun activities tomorrow.

 **XXX**

Team JNPR exited the Bullhead and began their trek into Vale proper in the usual fashion. Ren and Nora walked ahead with Nora clinging to her partner and chattering happily while Jaune stumbled into the nearest set of bushes and made his disappeared breakfast reappear. Pyrrha rubbed his back to help ease his nausea.

"Why couldn't my stomach be the one to forget its motion sickness instead of my brain forgetting my friends and family," Jaune moaned as he took slow deep breaths. "I swear, Pyr, Bullheads are **evil!** "

Though she was concerned for her partner, Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the familiar nickname. It was a good sign that meant hopefully his memories would return soon.

Luckily, temporary amnesiac or no, Jaune planned ahead once he realized exactly how they would be getting into Vale to run their errands. He was eternally grateful to his amazing partner when she handed him a field ration bar and a travel sized bottle of mouth wash.

With nutrients in his system, and breath minty fresh, Jaune Arc was ready to resume his quest for his lost memories. "Onwards Team JNPR! We must complete our questline so that we can be save Remnant from the forces of evil!"

Ren turned his head to stare back at his leader. "You mean the Grimm?"

Jaune sighed. "Weren't you listening, Ren? Clearly the real enemy is the City Planning Commission who designed the city layout so that we would have to take Bullheads every time we left Beacon to go into the city. Their cabal of diabolic tyranny must be ended!"

To punctuate his statement, the blonde knight struck what he thought of as a heroic pose: one hand on his hip, chest out and other hand pointing off and slightly up into the distance as the hood of his Pumpkin Pete hoodie flapped dramatically in the breeze.

Nora giggled, Ren smirked, and Pyrrha rolled her eyes and smiled as she took hold of her partner's arm and started to lead him to the nearest Dust shop to restock her ammo. "Take it easy, brave Paladin. I'm sure the evil cabal will still be there after we get our errands done. Plus, I'm sure you'll have a much easier time fighting them if you have all your memories back."

Jaune smiled as the two caught up to the rest of their team and went to restock their ammo. Pyrrha's casual tone, and complete faith in the return of his memories was doing an amazing job of keeping Jaune optimistic. "Thanks, Pyrrha. You're my rock."

Pyrrha controlled her blush, but it was a near thing. Even when he did not remember his team, he was still so open and caring with them that it was hard tell the difference. He was just so _Jaune_ that Pyrrha was finding it very difficult to remind herself that from his perspective they were currently strangers.

After restocking their supplies, and spending a few hours looking at the sloth exhibit at the zoo, the team was interrupted by a series of ominous growls that made nearby pedestrians wonder if Grimm had somehow breached the kingdom walls.

The quartet shared sheepish looks as Jaune made an executive decision. "Lunch?"

There was an immediate agreement. "Sorry, Nora, but no pancake buffet. We need more protein. Especially since we had pancakes yesterday."

The wielder of Magnhild pouted but relented as Ren nodded toward Jaune. "Agreed," he said.

"Great! I believe I saw a diner on the way here that claimed to have the best burgers in Vale. How about we go test that claim? All in favor?"

There was a resounding chorus of "ayes" and with that Team JNPR set off to expand their culinary experience.

 **XXX**

The diner was one of those old-fashioned places that became popular during the Great War. The floor was checkered black and white tile, and all the seats were a shiny red leather. The sign above the kitchen entrance advertised honest-to-Oum malted milkshakes, and near the counter-top lined with bar stools sat a dusty jukebox.

"I feel like we just walked into a greeting card," Nora whispered to her partner.

Ren shrugged. "Either that, or Clara's Tardis," Ren stated.

Jaune turned and made frantic waving gestures as he also futilely attempted to plug his ears. "Whoa, Ren! Spoilers! I still haven't seen the last three episodes of series nine yet!"

Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha all groaned aloud at that.

"W-what? Don't tell me…" Jaune began to blush not in embarrassment but anger as he realized what his team's reaction meant. His brain was hiding the series finale from him!

' _I have to remember! I have to get my life back!'_

Pyrrha put a hand on her partner's shoulder, and was somehow able to take her usual apologetic and empathetic expression and turn it up to eleven. "Jaune, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry that you don't recall our viewing party." Her eyes were wide and glistening in the light with unshed tears for her partner's predicament.

Jaune was sure it was one of the most heart wrenching things he had ever seen. _'Crap! She's gonna cry! I can't stand to see girls cry! Dear Oum, what should I do? Well, we are partners…_ '

With that thought, Jaune used the tried and true tactic of all men with close female friends. ' _Physical contact and complete subservience, don't fail me now…'_

Jaune reached out and brought his partner into a loose hug, one hand wrapped around her waist, the other rubbing her back with gentle circles. "Shhh…it's going to be alright, Pyrrha. Please don't cry. My memories will come back, and then we'll be able to theorize about the new season all we want! I promise!"

What Jaune failed to realize, as he was currently whispering in his partner's ear, is that his partner's tears had dried up almost as soon as the hug began. In fact, Pyrrha's face had gone from barely repressed despair to fifty shades of crimson so quickly Nora was afraid she may have given herself emotional whiplash.

Ren merely shook his head as he exchanged a glance with his partner. ' _If only they could see what is right in front of them…'_

Letting go of his partner, Jaune smiled as he took in her noticeably brighter, if slightly dazed expression. "Come on, Pyrrha, why don't we order milkshakes to go with our fries?" The champion's gaze became noticeably more focused at the thought of chocolate and ice cream.

JNPR's leader laughed as he led the group to a corer booth away from the windows, and close enough to see the kitchen and main entrance.

After the waitress came and delivered their menus, the teens made idle chatter as they decided on what to kind of burger they wanted; all the while Jaune's eyes constantly roamed the restaurant.

As they were waiting for their food, Jaune leaned in close to his team, whispering rather furiously. "Guys, I think I may be going insane."

"What makes you think that?" Ren inquired, donning his role as the team's rock of Zen calm.

"W-well…the older gentleman sitting behind us is around two-hundred pounds. He's a bouncer, or some sort of fighter based on the scars on his hands. He's right-handed, and based on his height and weight, if a fight breaks out it will take him exactly 17 steps to get from here to the nearest exit."

NPR just stared at their leader in silence. Jaune let out a mirthless chuckle. "See, crazy, right? There's more. If we were suddenly attacked by Beowolves, I can tell you that the tables and chairs wouldn't hold up as an effective barricade for long based on the average size and speed of a charging Beowolf. How could I possibly know all that, but not remember the team I've roomed with all semester or my own family?"

Nora just goggled at the blonde knight. "Are you a wizard?" she whispered in a mystified tone.

Jaune laughed. "Maybe. Either that or I really am crazy."

"You also led us to one of the only tables in the restaurant away from the windows, but in view of all the exits in the room," Ren chimed in, a look of intense thought on his face.

The knight let out a sharp gasp of surprise as his eyes widened. "I did?"

Ren nodded. "I think it means your mind is recalling some of your Huntsman training while it heals your conscious mind."

Pyrrha gentle touched his arm. "Jaune, it's alright. Perhaps it is just muscle memory and your leadership and tactics training being used. Muscles and the subconscious remember what the brain cannot actively recall."

"Really?" Jaune wasn't entirely convinced, but was willing to trust his partner.

"Really," Pyrrha smiled, her eyes sparkling with inspiration. "in fact, we should invite Team RWBY to our last official team sparring session of the semester before break on Monday. Maybe analyzing several different fighting styles will help jog your memory."

"They should be back from Ruby's 'Team Bonding Camping Adventure' tonight, so that should work. I've wanted to spar with Yang again for a while," Nora said.

"I don't know Pyrrha. I'm willing to try, but I don't know how much it'll help, unless it turns out I'm some sort of savant at reading body language or something. Was I always this observant about the people around me?"

The table went instantly quiet. Pyrrha was blushing and refused to meet his gaze. Ren was holding his head in his hands, and Nora was physically restraining herself from speaking with both hands over her mouth.

"Guys? What is it? What did I say?"

Just as the silence reached its peak awkward level, Nora decided to break her enforced quiet. "Look, the waitress is coming with our food! Thank Oum!"

Ren and Pyrrha let out audible sighs of relief as the food arrived and they dug in with a will. Poor Jaune was still confused.

 **XXX**

"That place was awesome. We should definitely go again!" Jaune was in a fantastic mood. The restaurant wasn't kidding; that was one of the best burgers that he had ever had.

"Who would've thought putting a peanut butter spread on a burger would be so delicious?! It was almost as good as pancakes!" Nora couldn't stop singing the praises of her newest culinary discovery.

"Yes. The cheese crumbles and vinaigrette glaze on my burger reminded me a lot of home." Pyrrha sighed wistfully.

Jaune touched her shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

Pyrrha smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine, Jaune. Just a little home sick I suppose."

Jaune sighed. "That must be tough. I wish I could say I understand, but given my current situation…"

Pyrrha's mood began to blacken further, guilt swelling in her chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Jaune! I did not mean to be so insensitive!"

"It's okay, Pyrrha! I wasn't offended or anything. Really, you're a person, too. It's okay to feel stuff and be a little selfish from time to time."

Pyrrha's smile came back as she gazed at her partner. Even when they were complete strangers due to his lack of memories, he still somehow knew just what to say brighten her mood. ' _I was right all along. He really is a fantastic leader.'_

The mood was broken when Nora, in typical Nora fashion, got distracted by some bright lights.

OOOHHH! Guys, there's an arcade! Can we go?! Canwecanwecanwe?"

"Well we did have a rather rich lunch. It would be good to walk around and burn a few calories at least," Ren mused.

"Yay, that means yes!" Nora cheered, grabbing her partner's hand, and practically dragging the unfortunate ninja of Team JNPR toward the bright flashing lights of the arcade. Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance and a shrug before taking off after them.

The arcade was rather full, as expected during a weekend. Everywhere the quartet looked was packed with masses of people near their own age that were fawning over the newest games to grace Vale.

Nora spotted an unoccupied _Whack-a-Grimm_ game, and skipped over to it humming happily; eager to teach those nasty Grimm a lesson with Mallethild. Ren of course trailed behind her to make sure she wasn't left unsupervised.

Pyrrha looked around in dazed wonder. Being a champion fighter left little time for leisurely pursuits, and so the Mistral champion had seldom seen a videogame, let alone played one. _'I feel a bit overwhelmed right now. What am I supposed to do here?'_

Luckily, Beacon's resident blonde knight came to her rescue. "Hey, want to try one of the fighting games? With your reflexes, it should be easy."

Pyrrha gave him a smile despite her unease. "I suppose we can, yes. If you think that is best."

Jaune frowned. "What's wrong?"

Pyrrha hesitated, but decided to just come out with it. Even if he couldn't remember her right now, this was _Jaune_ her partner. "I just…am very inexperienced when it comes to playing games."

"That's okay," Jaune replied, "Everyone has to start somewhere. Come on!"

And with that, he grabbed Pyrrha's hand and dragged her toward one of the free fighting games, something called _Aura Caliber._

Twenty minutes later, and they discovered that while she had the experience of a championship fighter, it did her virtually no good. She kept miss timing her attacks waiting for tells that were not there. In short, she kept overthinking her fights and expecting her opponents to react more realistically than they were.

Even if Jaune currently had all his memories, he would still be able to say that he had never seen this side of Pyrrha before today. Gone was the calm, composed champion and in her place, was a seething teenage girl filled with cold fury.

"I just do not understand how the samurai could block my downward slash like that! I have a whip-sword, and superior range! This is _not_ how a real fight works!" When the screen of the console started to fill with static, Jaune decided to pull his partner away before she really lost her temper.

Luckily, the duo had much better luck with a two-player shooting game called _Time Alert_. After a disastrous start, it seemed Pyrrha had found something she could have fun playing. With her superior reflexes, hand eye coordination, and a good partner, Pyrrha was having much more fun gunning down campy terrorist villains.

After clearing the story mode, they decided to walk around some more until they found something else that interested them. Luckily, it didn't take them long.

At the very back of the arcade, taking up almost the entire wall by themselves were several sets of machines that consisted of a pad with bright, flashing lights, and a holographic display monitor that faced out toward the rest of the arcade, away from the wall. Above the machines were even larger monitors with that displayed the current high scores.

When he saw them, the world stopped for Jaune Arc. He could hear his heartbeat begin to rise and feel the blood begin to pump in his ears. He fixed his eyes on the highest score, some moron calling himself **King Cardin** , which barely broke out of the hundred thousand range, and smirked. That name had ignited the stirring of a memory, a cruel face twisted by a sneer. _'Time to show this amateur how it's done.'_

In all their time as partners, Pyrrha could honestly say that she had never seen her partner like this. His stance was loose as he rolled his shoulders, relaxed and yet ready to move at a moment's notice. His eyes were dark and practically smoldering with excitement and anticipation as he gazed at the strange game machines. Right now, he looked every inch the confident warrior about to do battle. Pyrrha had seen the same look in the mirror right before an important match.

The redhead was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of Jaune's voice. "Pyrrha, hold my hoodie please."

She barely had time to register that her partner had begun removing his clothes before she found his black hoodie thrust into her hands. She _did_ however notice the flash of his bare abdominal muscles as his undershirt settled on his body.

Her mouth suddenly felt as dry as a summer day in Vacuo, and it felt like all the blood in her body was rushing to her face at the same time. ' _That must be why I feel so lightheaded. By Oum, I had not realized our training was showing such results already,'_

When she composed herself, Jaune was almost to the machine. Pyrrha took a quick look around to make sure she wasn't being observed, before inhaling her partner's scent on the hoodie.

When Jaune reached the pad of the machine, his stance was firm; knees slightly bent, shoulders back and chest out. He was tense and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Once the game's title screen ( _Just Dance Revolution)_ gave way to the first song, Pyrrha could see his confident smirk through the holographic display before he began to _move…_

 **XXX**

Ren trailed behind Nora, burdened with the loot won by their awesome skills. His partner had set a record in _Whack-a-Grimm_ that had nearly broken the machine, and resulted in her being banned from the machine. She was fine with that though, as she was still able to trade in her tickets for a stuffed Ursa Major with fluffy pink spikes.

Once Nora was banned from _Whack-a-Grimm,_ she decided to accompany Ren while he searched for a game that struck his fancy. This ended up being a ski-ball game with a giant smiling clown, whose teeth were knocked out the higher the points the player earned. Ren chose this because he considered clowns to be a more intelligent species of Grimm (though only Nora believed him) and he was a ski-ball _god._ In fact, his score was so high, it scrambled the score reader of the machine and meant that he was also banned.

Ren was fine with this, cashing his tickets for a giant plush dark blue dragon speckled with green along its body sporting a gray right eye and teal left eye. He felt drawn to it, even if they would both end up on Nora's bed anyway.

Since they didn't see any other games that caught their eye, Ren thought it would be a good idea to find Jaune and Pyrrha so that they could pick up Jaune's new pajamas before going back to their dorm.

This proved a challenge when they were forced to go against the tide of people that was packed into the back of the room looking for their friends. It didn't help that Nora skipped through the masses, calling for Jaune and Pyrrha as if the people around her did not exist. Ren simply trailed behind her, giving apologies in her wake.

As they travelled further into the crowd, Ren noticed a gradual shift in mood. The excitement of the crowd became palpable as he and Nora became awash in the frantic energy and excited murmurs around them.

Ren's curiosity was piqued when he saw Nora stop near the fringes of the crowd, and stare, transfixed. Just as he was wondering if a pancake buffet had materialized in the arcade, Ren stood next to Nora, and was confronted with a sight that was nearly as unbelievable: Jaune Arc was dancing.

To be fair, calling what Jaune was doing merely dancing was like calling the playing of an orchestra merely music; accurate but lacking in understanding of the true depth of the performance.

Jaune's movements were fluid, and precise. No movement was wasted as he flowed from one step to the next with the ever-changing beat.

Nora turned to her left to ask the person next to her how exactly this had happened when she was shocked to see that it was Pyrrha.

The celebrity of Team JNPR was currently ensconced in their leader's hoodie like Ruby with her cloak, arms inside the sleeves, and face barely visible from under the hood. Nora would have missed her completely were it not for the flash of familiar green eyes staring with laser like intensity at their blonde leader.

' _I wonder if that's what I look like when there are pancakes in front of me?'_ Nora mused as she retrieved her scroll and started taking video of their Fearless Leader since Pyrrha was too distracted. _'I'm sure she'll appreciate this later…'_

Ren, who had moved to stand on Pyrrha's left so that he wouldn't ruin Nora's shot, noticed something else entirely about their hoodie wearing teammate. ' _Is she drooling?'_ Ren wondered as he stared from Pyrrha to the subject of her attention.

It was at that moment that Jaune executed a fall onto the dance pad to hit three lit arrows at once. He was spread-eagled in a crab-like position, each limb on a different arrow. When he used the momentum of a particularly vigorous hip thrust to kip back onto his feet, there was no denying it.

Pyrrha's mouth was slightly open and there was no mistaking the slight moisture gathering around her mouth. Ren sighed. ' _I should get her attention now. This will only be more embarrassing the longer it goes on.'_

Bracing himself, Ren gently placed his hand on Pyrrha's shoulder, just as Jaune was finishing his routine. "Pyrrha are you and Jaune ready to go?"

Pyrrha startled as she returned her focus to the world around her. "What? Um, yes. I'm sorry, were you waiting long?"

Ren smiled to hopefully ease her embarrassment. "Not long. Now that Jaune has finished, you should cash in your tickets so we can go get pajamas.

Pyrrha smiled, "Of course." That smile fell when she felt a bit of moisture on her cheek. _'Was I drooling?!'_ Pyrrha's face turned a shade of red that likely crossed into the infrared spectrum.

Nora laughed as she put away her scroll and took over carrying their prizes, already planning where to display them in their room.

Jaune rejoined the group amidst much applause and cheering, secure in his place as the true Lord of the Dance with a score in the lower millions. "Hey guys, did I miss anything?"

Nora giggled as she hefted the loot of her labors, "I didn't know you had such cool moves Jaune-y! You and Ren should form a band! I could be your manager, we would make so much money!"

"Thanks, Nora. I guess I'm just naturally good at dancing," Jaune said with a smile, proud of his skills even if he did not recall how he learned them. "We should probably go, since I still need to pick up some pajamas that make me look my age."

With that, Jaune and Pyrrha made their way to the prize counter, each getting their own plushie. Pyrrha had her heart set on a large red furred wolf with green eyes that matched hers. Jaune decided on a bronze and crimson armored robot plushie with a round chest piece that also doubled as a flashlight.

 **XXX**

After the group left the arcade, they finally made it to a store that sold clothes. Jaune and Ren split away from their partners to find something new to wear, leaving the fairer half of their team to their own devices.

'So, Pyrrha…" Nora said, eyes shifting from side to side as she wrapped her arm around the redhead's shoulders and leaned in close.

"Yes, Nora?" Pyrrha uttered cautiously. When Nora was trying to be subtle, chaos usually ensued.

"I got the goods, if you're interested…" Nora announced, affecting a rather exaggerated West Valian City accent. Pyrrha merely quirked an eyebrow in confusion. In response, Nora pulled up her most recently recorded video.

Pyrrha's normally bright green eyes darkened, emotions flashing in them that Nora had rarely seen from her best female friend. "What do you want?" Pyrrha asked, tone low and slightly manic.

Nora smirked as she proceeded to _Nora_ harder than she ever had before. "Well, since you asked…"

 **XXX**

Jaune shuddered as he stood in line with his new pajama pants and t-shirts.

"You okay?" Ren asked in concern. Since Jaune's condition could change at any moment, caution was necessary when dealing with any sudden behavioral changes.

"Yeah. I think so," Jaune mumbled, glancing around as though he expected to be attacked at any moment, "I just suddenly feel very stressed and I have no idea why."

"Was it a cold feeling of dread starting at the base of your spine and moving to your head? Do you have a sharp headache right above your eyes?"

"Yeah" Jaune's tone conveyed his slight wonder. "How did you know? Is it bad?"

Ren's lips turned up in a slight smirk. "Not at all Jaune. It's actually normal, and good news."

"I fail to see how one of the most annoying headaches I have ever had is good news," Jaune's tone was drier than Vacuo.

"Because it means you're starting to remember more. The symptoms just mean your body is remembering how to use its' 'Nora Sense'." Ren nodded sagely.

"Nora Sense?" Jaune's disbelief was plain, "You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all. Think of it like an early warning system of sorts for the chaos Nora creates. It's not precise, but is usually good enough to give some warning to help avoid property damage or know when to leave an area quickly. For example," Ren spun just in time to catch a falling mannequin as Nora rushed by, dragging Pyrrha along. "It's all just a matter of practice."

Jaune stared in amazement.

 **XXX**

Team JNPR's blonde knight collapsed face-first on his bed in exhaustion. After getting their new clothes, the team had ended their trip the way it began, by cursed airship. The effort of keeping down his excellent lunch, coupled with the events of the day were finally catching up to him. He was just contemplating whether he could get away with falling asleep in his clothes when his partner tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you want first shower, Jaune?" His reply was a groan and a dismissive wave.

Pyrrha smiled. "If you're certain." As his partner made her way to the bathroom, Jaune rolled over with a groan and got up to retrieve his new pajama bottoms. ' _Guess that settles that. No sense trying to sleep now.'_

"Hey Nora, can you text Team RWBY for me to invite them to our practice tomorrow. Pyrrha's idea was good and it would be a shame if we didn't at least try to make it happen."

Nora saluted midair as she jumped on her bed. "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Still jumping, Nora shot off a text to Team RWBY who had, as luck would have it just arrived back at campus. Ruby texted back a thumb up shortly after and Nora cheered.

"We're all set, Captain! I'm fighting Yang tomorrow!" Nora continued to cheer as Ren sighed. "Just try not to overdo it tomorrow, okay? Last time you two almost broke the ballistic shielding around the arena."

Nora merely giggled in response. "No promises!"

 **XXX**

Team RWBY were going through their pre-fight warm ups with vigor. Blake was finishing the current chapter of her newest acquired novel, Weiss was filing her nails, Ruby was checking her ammo, and Yang was throwing jab combinations at the air. All of that came to a halt when their friends of Team JNPR entered the combat arena.

Ruby was the first to react, returning her weapon to its compact form and greeting the arrival of her friends in a rush of her semblance and flood of excited babble.

"Oh my gosh guys! It's so good to see you!" Ruby gushed as she wrapped first Nora and then Pyrrha in a warm hug. "Hey, Jaune!" Ruby chirped, reaching up to put his head like she would Zwei.

Jaune smiled, amused at the admittedly adorable girl he couldn't remember. "Hi. Ruby, right? And that's the rest of your team?"

Ruby's concerned pout would shame a Beowolf. "What are you talking about, Jaune? Who else would we be? Are you feeling okay?"

Jaune's nervous laughter did not fill her with confidence. Luckily, Nora was there to salvage the awkward situation with exactly zero sugar coating. "While you guys were gone, there was an explosion in the forge that knocked out our Fearless Leader. The explosion scrambled his brains and the doctor said he'll have short term amnesia for a bit."

Ruby gave a confused hum accompanied by a head tilt so adorable it could be weaponized. "Am-what now?"

Blake looked up from her book, her concern evident. "It means he doesn't remember us."

Ruby gave a startled gasp of heartbreaking horror as she heard that. "But…you're my first friend at Beacon! How could you forget me?"

Faced with Ruby's soul shattering gaze, Jaune decided to do what came naturally. ' _If it works for Pyrrha…'_

Jaune reached out and gently tussled her hair, beaming towards Team RWBY. "It's okay everyone. My memories will come back, in the meantime, I'll just have to get to know you all over again. After all, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!"

Ruby wiped her eyes, managing a watery smile. "Your mom always says that."

"She does?" Jaune queried, "That must be why it sounds so familiar"

Behind Ruby, it was Weiss' turn to gasp in shock. "You do not remember your own mother?" Weiss was truly sympathetic. Aside from her sister, Weiss' mother was one of the only people in the Schnee household to show her any true affection. The thought of not remembering her…

Weiss' sudden discovery of human empathy meant that her next words were much less harsh than they could have been. "Mr. Arc, in light of this turn of events, I'm willing to forget our history and start afresh," her tone was soft, yet still carried an unmistakable hint of imperiousness.

Poor Jaune was just confused. "We didn't used to date or anything did we?"

Weiss' huff of indignation was covered up by Yang's loud guffaws. "No, but it wasn't for lack of trying! You've been trying to get a scoop of Weiss-cream for a whole semester now!"

Blake slapped her partner's shoulder in retaliation as everyone else groaned.

It was apparently Jaune's turn for a stunned gasp. "Oh, you're Weiss! I'm sorry if I was an annoying pest to you before. I promise not to ask you out anymore if that helps ease your worries."

Weiss let the barest hint of a smile touch her lips as she saw the honest sincerity in Jaune's eyes. "I appreciate that Mr. Arc…Jaune. It would be nice to at least be casual acquaintances without you trying to court me every day."

Jaune whistled in stunned appreciation of his own dogged determination. "I asked you out every day?! Wow, that is as impressive as it is sad. I wouldn't mind being your friend, Weiss. Dating should always come later in a relationship anyway; and aside from your beauty, I don't even know you!"

Yang's cry of "Didn't stop you before!" was promptly ignored.

Weiss' next smile was much more genuine. ' _At least he finally understands.'_ "I believe that as long as you continue to comport yourself in a gentlemanly fashion, we will have no conflicts from here, Jaune."

Jaune smiled, "Glad to hear it, Ms. Schnee." With that taken care of, Jaune fell back into his role as leader. "Now who's up for hitting each other repeatedly in the face until we can't feel feelings anymore?!"

Nora and Yang's duel cries of exhilaration were quickly taken up by the rest of their group as everyone completed their pre-battle rituals.

"I hope you're ready, Yang! Today you will taste ultimate, soul crushing _despair!"_ Nora crowed, hopping up onto the arena to do battle.

"Bring it on!" Yang returned, grinning as she got into her battle stance.

 **XXX**

As the two power houses of their teams faced off, everyone else gathered in the stands to observe. Blake somehow produced more pennants bearing everyone's team names, which they proceeded to wave with much enthusiasm.

While Jaune certainly did his best to socialize with everyone, he couldn't help but feel drawn into the spars of his friends. He didn't participate, but he did analyze. He studied Nora's hammer technique, noting how long it took her to swing her weapon. He also noticed that Yang's fighting style seldom made use of her legs.

Ruby's fighting style relied on range, mobility, and speed to get the job done. She even used her own weapon as a brace for launching kicks and twirls at close range.

Weiss' combat abilities relied on precision, speed, and Dust. While the last one wouldn't help him personally, Jaune felt a few of her sword techniques may be able to be adapted for himself or Pyrrha.

Blake and Ren were two of the most interesting to watch. Blake's use of her Semblance, and the ribbon of her kusarigama to restrain and attack at range made her very hard to hit. Ren's mastery of close-quarters combat made him an absolute monster at close range. His dual machine-pistols were also a very potent mid-range weapon.

Jaune was so lost in his thoughts, he barely registered the presence of his partner when she sat beside him.

Pyrrha was incredibly attracted to her partner at this moment. This was nothing new, of course, but what made this particular moment special was the look of deep concentration on Jaune's face as he strategized.

The Mistral Champion had been surrounded by people that would be considered the embodiment of physical attractiveness since she was old enough to compete. Such is the nature of competing in the arena with serious athletes. Being a healthy, curious teenage girl meant that she noticed these things about her competition, and frequently.

Of course, it only took an encounter with a particularly arrogant jerk that couldn't take no for an answer, or one shrew of a girl pretending to be her friend for a photo op to advance her modeling career before Pyrrha learned the awful truth.

Sometimes beauty really is only skin deep.

So as with every weapon raised against her, she turned them aside. She still noticed the attractiveness of her peers, but it became secondary to more desirable traits such as the ability to treat her like a person instead of a tool.

It was in this respect that Jaune Arc excelled, being one of the first people to see her as an actual person. However, what had caught Pyrrha's attention at present was watching Jaune think.

For all his lack of experience in physical combat, Jaune had an instinctual grasp of tactics and coordination that was mind-boggling. His gaze would darken and focus with singular intensity when he was dissecting a problem. His mental fortitude and sharp mind were equally as attractive as the very cute packaging that held it.

' _I wonder if that's what my face looks like to my opponents?'_ Pyrrha thought as she studied her partner.

Suddenly, Jaune seemed to return to return to the world around him, blinking rapidly.

"Pyrrha? Sorry, didn't see you there. Guess I got lost in my own head," Jaune muttered with an awkward chuckle as his hand came up to tussle his hair.

Pyrrha beamed at him. "It's quite alright, Jaune. Would you like to spar with me since everyone else has already?"

The nervous chuckle was much more evident this time. "No thanks, Pyr. I think we should wait a few more days before I get back to fighting. Head trauma got me into this mess, and I don't want to risk more of it so soon. If I get hard enough again, I may even forget other important stuff like how to dress myself!"

Pyrrha's traitorous brain conjured images of what exactly that would mean for their team dynamic. Dressing Jaune. _Un_ dressing Jaune. She glanced down at Milo, currently resting in her lap, and it seemed in that moment that her repressed desires gained a voice. ' _Come on. You know you want to~.'_

' _One little thrust and all your fantasies could come true~'_ the insidious voice whispered in her ear.

' _It'll only hurt for a moment~.'_

' _Just the tip~.'_

Further down the bleachers, unseen by the two distracted teens, Blake stumbled as the metal stairs under her feet gave a brief, violent shake.

Pyrrha shook her head, and mentally shredded such terrible thoughts, reasserting her iron will. Jaune was immediately concerned. "You okay, Pyr?"

Pyrrha smiled. "I'm fine, Jaune. If you are unwilling to spar today, perhaps we could resume our training together in a few days? No reason to be idle for the entire break after all."

"Sure, Pyrrha. I think that would be good. Can't let my body forget like my brain, right? Speaking of, I know our break starts tomorrow, but what do you say we spend a few hours in the library tomorrow? I know Beacon keeps student and Huntsman records. Maybe we'll find more on my family if we look together?"

 **XXX**

The first day of the one-month break between semesters was truly picturesque. The sun was shining. Birds were chirping. The atmosphere was so positive that it was actively repelling Grimm. Truly, the residents of Beacon Academy could not ask for a more perfect day.

"Ren~! It's _soooo_ boring! The butterflies outside won't chase themselves! There are perfectly good trees outside we could be climbing right. now. We could be climbing trees, using the higher ground to spot Grimm, and then killing those Grimm with the trees as a team! You are denying us perfectly good team bonding time!"

Ren merely sighed into his history text. "Nora, we can go outside later. Right now, we have to focus on helping Jaune find some mention of his family so that he can get his memories back that much sooner."

Ren would forever deny to anyone outside his team smiling at his partner's adorable pout.

"I want to help Jaune-y too, Ren! But I just don't see why we can't do that outside in the bright sunshine and breeze," Nora lamented.

"Because the books are all here, Nora," stated Ren calmly as he searched another page for mentions of his friend's family.

"Ugh, fine!" Nora expelled in an aggrieved huff as she stood from her seat and marched determinedly into the stacks of books.

Ren paused, waiting for the warning tingle of his ever-helpful Nora Sense. When none came, he merely shrugged and kept working.

Sitting at a table in the records section of the library, Jaune and Pyrrha were becoming increasingly frustrated. There were records of both his parents' teams, but they were very basic and heavily redacted. There were names but few details, and strangely no pictures. The only reason they even had this much was because they were reading an old newspaper article detailing the building of that very library thanks to the major financial contributions of past alumni. Jaune's parents Leon and Angelique Arc were apparently the biggest donors.

Jaune let out a frustrated sigh, laying his head against the desk. Pyrrha let out a murmur of concern as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Jaune, I'm certain we'll find something soon."

The knight left out a very forced chuckle that fooled absolutely no one. "Yeah. I was really hoping this would be more helpful. Sure, I know their names, but that doesn't seem to be enough to trigger anything on its own. I need some sort of details, or at least a picture to go on."

Team JNPR's leader let out a rueful chuckle as he turned to face his partner. "At least we learned one thing besides their names," Jaune said looking down again at the article.

Pyrrha gave an enquiring hum.

"They are apparently quite wealthy considering what it cost to build and maintain this library. It's a shame we couldn't just buy back my memories, huh? We should probably call it quits for the day. I doubt we're going to find anything…"

"I FOUND IT!"

The exuberant cry of Team JNPR's hammer wielding leg breaker rang throughout the library, and was immediately contained by Ren who raced over to put one hand over her mouth and raised a finger to his lips.

"Ooops. Sorry, Ren~!" Nora whisper yelled.

Jaune and Pyrrha trudged over, curious about Nora's discovery.

"What did you find, Nora?" Jaune asked gently, once Ren was certain she wouldn't yell again.

In answer, Nora presented a rather old looking, large book with a green cover titled: _'Glories of Remnant'_.

"I don't follow," Jaune said with complete honesty.

Nora practically vibrated in place, she was so excited. "Well I got bored not finding anything in the history records, and I was looking out the window when I noticed that cool statue out by the main entrance. I always thought it was neat, so I decided to take a break and see if I could find out more about it when I found this!"

The book, it turned out, was a history of all of Vale's famous land marks. And what should be on the page Nora turned to but…

"The Beacon Statue," Jaune read. "Though many of the specifics about the battles of Remnant's Great War era have been lost to the Grimm, there are some details which shall forever be preserved. One of these is the exploits of Alphonse Arc, believed captain of the king of Vale's guard. He is credited with rallying the beleaguered defenders of Vale in the final battles of the war. He held the city against man and Grimm, giving the king time to decisively end the battle. He is credited with inventing the four-person Huntsman team that is still in use today."

Pyrrha let out a hum of appreciation as Ren nodded slightly, "That's very impressive, Jaune."

Jaune laughed, "I guess so," before abruptly stopping as he studied the picture of the man and his team.

Suddenly, bits of memory came flooding forth from the depths of his subconscious.

Images of a near giant of a man with broad shoulders and chest. The man had dark hair. In the memory, Jaune was young, and sitting on the man's lap, his massive hand supporting Jaune's back as he told stories of the family legacy.

"Remember, Jaune, we come from a legacy of great warriors. Those that stood against the dark with naught but the strength of their shield arm and their skill with a blade."

The next bit of memory was the aroma of cocoa and a woman's laughter like tinkling wind chimes. She entered the room bearing mugs of hot chocolate for the family. Her blue eyes were a few shades lighter than Jaune's own, but there was no mistaking her blonde hair. This was indeed his mother.

"Are you telling Jaune those old tales again, dear? You'll do anything to make family history seem interesting, won't you?"

The man gave an indignant huff. "It _is_ interesting, Angel! Besides, how is our son supposed to understand where he's going if he has no idea where he came from?"

Angelique smiled. "Nevertheless, history and heroes aren't the _only_ important things in the world. And just because he's travelled one path, doesn't mean he must stay on it. Things like music, architecture, art, and medicine are just as important as being a warrior."

Jaune gave the most indignant pout his childish body could produce. "I don't want to do any of those things, mommy! I want to help people! I want to save them from the nasty monsters so they can do stuff with art and music and 'arc-e~-tecsure'!"

Jaune's mother let out another laugh. "Architecture, sweetie."

The boy gave a firm nod that made his head wobble just a bit too much on his tiny frame.

The tiny child stood from his father's lap, and stood in the middle of the living room. He struck as heroic a pose as his tiny frame could manage: chest out, feet firmly planted as one hand rested on his hip, imaginary blade held aloft in the other. "I'll make our family proud with the strength of my shield arm and the skill of my blade!"

As Jaune came back to himself, his team did their best to give him space, but remain close if needed. When he could focus, Jaune directed his team to an empty table, and in hushed whispers shared a memory that, until his recent accident, defined who he was.

 **XXX**

It was another average day for Teams RWBY and JNPR. Well, average aside from the fact that it was the last day of their vacation before school officially started again. Platoon WBY JNPR were sitting at their usual table eating lunch.

Nora was recounting another of her recurring dreams, much to the enthrallment of Yang. Ren was correcting her embellishments between bites of salad. Weiss was filing her nails, and Blake was of course reading. Jaune and Pyrrha were huddled together watching the trailer for the new _X-Ray and Vav_ movie on Pyrrha's scroll. Between their proximity to each other, and their enthrallment with the trailer, they were the most heavily startled when the loud thump of Weiss' purloined history hitting the table echoed throughout the immediate area.

Jaune let out a startled yelp, nearly losing his balance from the sudden shift of movement as his arms flailed. To her credit, Pyrrha's eyes merely widened a fraction, but all the metal cutlery at the table shook briefly and turned towards the direction the sound came from.

Ruby Rose smiled as she addressed her gathered friends, an extra in tow. "Hmm..hmm," Ruby started with what she thought of as a dramatic throat clearing, "Friends…sisters…Weiss."

Weiss' indignant cry of "Hey!" was completely ignored.

"Roughly 12 hours ago, I had a dream!" Ruby continued, excitement building, "Yes, a dream the eight of us would come together as one team and have the most fun anyone has ever had ever!"

Yang took a moment to swallow the strawberry Nora had just tossed her before speaking up. "That's great, Sis, but I just have one question: What's Penny doing here?"

Indeed, the ginger-haired Huntress was standing behind Ruby, gazing at everyone with a wide, almost childish smile. "Sal-u-tations, everyone! It's great to see you again Ice Queen, Blake, and Yang! And it's also nice to meet new people," the Atlassian girl stated as she turned to Team JNPR, "I hope that we can all become great friends!"

Now it was Weiss' turn to seek clarification. "While it is certainly an unexpected bit of good fortune seeing you again so soon Penny," the heiress began, ever the diplomat, "how is it that you've come to be here now?"

Penny once again smiled her child-like smile. "I arrived this morning to seek arrangements for my team's lodging while at Beacon for the Tournament. I met Ruby while she was planning a day full of fun activities and helped her increase her productivity and time management by 87.3%."

"Well it's about time _someone_ taught her how to organize…" Weiss grumbled, stabbing her food with her fork perhaps _slightly_ harder than necessary.

Ruby decided to prove she was the better woman and promptly stuck her tongue out at her partner before turning to Penny. "Why don't you sit with us for a bit Penny? It'll be nice for everyone to get to know you before we start having the Best Day Ever."

"That sounds sensational Friend Ruby!" Penny exclaims as she takes a seat next to Blake. This left Penny sitting just close enough to get swept up in the hyperactive hurricane that is Nora Valkyrie meeting new people.

"Hi, I'm Nora! This is my partner Ren. He's a ninja," JNPR's heavy hitter pointed to each of her team mates in turn, "That's Pyrrha, she's good with spears! And finally, that's our Fearless Leader, Jaune! He is our brilliant strategist!"

Once everyone had a chance to greet one another, Yang and Nora did their best to pull Blake and Penny into a conversation about her home to get to know her. From there, the group dynamic settled into a comfortable normalcy. Ren continued eating. Jaune and Pyrrha went back to her scroll. Weiss went back to her nails, and Blake continued to read. Ruby hummed happily, satisfied that all her friends were getting along as she reviewed her itinerary for the day. _'Is it my imagination, or are Penny's eyes glowing when she looks at Blake's book?'_

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren watched Nora and Yang begin to discuss favorite foods with Penny, pausing to check for the tell-tale shiver of early warning before going back to what they were doing.

"What do you mean you've never had pancakes?!" Nora cried in horror, "How could you have been denied the sweet, soft, fluffy goodness of pancakes your entire life?!" The girl was almost beside herself with outrage for her fellow ginger's deprivation.

"We have to fix this! Tomorrow is pancake day in the cafeteria, so you can try them then. Once you experience Mana from Oum, you'll never go back!" Nora exclaimed, putting an arm around Penny's shoulder's and drawing her into a quick side-hug.

Through it all, Penny continued to smile, drawn in to Nora's excitement. "I'm sure the pancakes will be stupendous Friend Nora, though I doubt they'll be as good as my father's homemade Pez-oil."

"Is that like Atlas Toast?" Nora asked, "Because Fearless Leader made that for us last week and it was _awesome!_ Almost as good as pancakes!"

Further conversation was cut off by a cry of pain coming from a few tables down. As one, Platoon RWBY JNPR turned toward the sound, and their expressions immediately darkened.

Yang's fists clenched. Weiss' gaze became colder than usual. Ruby looked as though she dearly wanted to call her Rocket Locker. Blake looked as though she dearly wanted to maim someone, and Nora wasn't far behind. Pyrrha and Ren looked on with expressions of equal disgust. Penny looked worried, as though she couldn't quite comprehend why this was happening.

However, the most surprising reaction came from JNPR's leader. His eyes were the dark blue of a storm sea, and his face was set in a mask of cold fury. "I know I'm having memory trouble at the moment, so could you guys refresh my memory?" Jaune all but demands as he turned to his partner, "Does this sort of thing happen often?"

Pyrrha's gaze is equally stormy as she explains, "Unfortunately, so. Team CRDL seem to take a perverse delight in bullying others, especially Faunus. And particularly poor Velvet."

Jaune watches the struggling rabbit Faunus give another cry of pain while begging the bullies to stop. All she gets is more cruel laughter. For some reason, Jaune can't help but think of little Rawaya, the sister he barely remembers, and her cute attempts to "smile like a bunny rabbit" for her pictures. _'I can't ignore this. I have to do something.'_

With that thought, Jaune loosened his uniform tie from around his neck and began to wind it around his right hand. He pushed back his chair quickly and stood up.

The others were so focused on staring menacingly at Team CRDL that by the time they noticed Jaune's absence, he was in front of them striding purposefully toward the ongoing conflict.

His friends looked on in growing alarm, and began to rise to stop him, but it was already too late.

 **XXX**

As Jaune approached Team CRDL, their cruel laughter died off slowly as they noticed his determined stride. Cardin's face morphed into a mocking smirk

"Jaune-y Boy!" Cardin exclaimed, arms open wide in mocking welcome. Unfortunately, it just meant he was squeezing his victim's ears tighter. "Hey, I heard you had a little accident during the break, and your head got all scrambled. Hope you didn't forget your best buddy Cardin!"

Jaune's answering smile was not kind. "It's definitely hard to forget that face Cardin. Sadly, not even amnesia can fully erase your ugly mug from my brain."

Cardin scowled. "What was that, Jaune-y Boy? I could've sworn you were making fun of me for a minute there. But you wouldn't do that, right? I'm real sensitive you know, and if someone were to hurt my feelings, I might just have to _hurt_ them!"

He punctuated this statement by squeezing Velvet's ears harder, eliciting another whimper.

"Nah, Cardin. I'm not doing that at all. I'm just joking with an old friend, right? And listen, one friend to another, I need you to do me a favor."

Cardin let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, what's that, _pal?"_ The condescension was practically visible in Cardin's tone.

Jaune widened his stance, and took his hands out of his pockets. "I need you to let the girl go, and apologize."

This time the rest of his team joined Cardin in laughter. "Apologize?! For disciplining an animal? You're a funny man, Jaune-y! Tell ya what; for making me laugh so much I'll let you walk away now and we can forget all about this little misunderstanding."

The rest of Team CRDL began to spread out behind their leader leaving little doubt as to what the consequences of refusal would be.

Jaune's smile was more glacial than a Schnee during a hostile business takeover. "I was just asking to be polite, Cardin. If you won't let go of the girl and apologize willingly, I'm going to have to make you."

CRDL's mocking laughter was now mixed with incredulity.

"You're gonna _make_ us?" Dove wheezed, nearly bent double from laughter, "you can't even win a practice spar! You're the worst fighter in our year!"

Russel was next, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "Man, I guess you really did get your brains scrambled if you think you can beat any of us, let alone our whole team!"

Jaune's smile did not waver. "You're right. I can't really remember much as far as our past interactions are concerned. But I do know that each my friends have fought each of you at some point. And my partner beat your entire team by herself. Once I get my turn we'll have to change your name to PNTA for Team Piñata, except instead of candy, I'll be beating the racism out of you. Who knows, maybe it'll make you decent human beings."

At this point the cafeteria had gone completely silent, most of the onlookers completely enraptured by the drama in front of them. Cardin, realizing he now had an audience for the beat down he was about to deliver, smirked even wider, immediately losing interest in his poor victim.

He released Velvet with a negligent shove, causing her to land in a painful heap at Jaune's feet. The knight, ever the gentleman, immediately helped the young lady to her feet. You're Velvet, right? If you aren't injured, why don't you go sit with my friends and enjoy your lunch. I should be over there myself soon."

The Faunus girl gave a shaky nod, and staggered off in the direction of the RWBY NPR table, half convinced that this was all some strange dream. Jaune's friends weren't far behind. Nora was convinced that they were all somehow hallucinating the same dream brought on by Death Stalker venom.

Cardin made a show of getting right in Jaune's personal space. "Tell you what, Jaune. I'm a generous guy. I'll let you have the first shot free." Left unsaid was the fact that to Cardin this would completely validate the thrashing he would deliver after. Since Jaune couldn't even remember saving his life, it was like their deal didn't exist. Jaune striking first would be all the justification Cardin needed to restore the "status quo" as he saw it.

Since his enemy was deciding to be stupid, Jaune decided to take full advantage of his given opportunity. Cardin may have been slightly taller, and definitely more muscular than Jaune, but that didn't stop him from having a lot of the same weaknesses.

Cardin's stance was wide, his hands were down at his sides, and he was bent forward looming over Jaune and completely focused on his covered hand.

He was completely unprepared for Jaune's foot delivering a "Yang Special" right to the family jewels.

While his aura protected him from taking any real damage, it still _hurt,_ especially without immediately doubled over in pain as the air left his lungs in a _whoosh_ of agony. He went down on one knee, clutching himself with both hands.

The tie around Jaune's hand served to both protect his knuckles and cover the fact that he had been taking a page from the Lie Ren School of Conflict Resolution and channeling aura into his fist since before the fight began. Jaune's aura enhanced fist crashed into Cardin's jaw in a picture-perfect right cross.

Cardin' aura popped like a balloon, and he fell to the floor in an insensate heap.

 **XXX**

At the RWBY NPR table, everyone, including the newly joined Velvet, stared in absolute awe. Team RWBY was a mix of stunned disbelief (Weiss and Blake) and worry mixed with disbelief (Ruby and Yang).

Nora reached over to her partner next to her, refusing to look away from the amazing sight in front of her.

"Ow. Nora, why did you pinch me?" Ren asked with a sigh.

"Because, Renny, I wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming and I thought the fastest way to know for sure was to see if you were dreaming, because if I was dreaming you would definitely be in it somehow. Aren't I in your dreams, Ren?"

For the first time in a very long time, Lie Ren had to fight to control a blush. He succeeded, being an all-around Zen master, but it was a near thing. "Of course, Nora," Ren said in his usual unflappable tone, "we're best friends after all. And no, I don't think we're dreaming."

Eyes still fixed on the conflict in front of her, Nora leaned to her left slightly and absently tapped Ren on the nose, "Boop," she muttered.

Pyrrha was honestly a mix of emotions, though none of them were disbelief. She was ecstatic at Jaune's finally standing up for himself. She felt pride in her leader, and the hard work it took him to reach this point. There was a bit of worry about the odds he was currently facing, even if Team CRDL barely rated as a warmup match to most everyone sitting at their table. She was also keeping a running critique of Jaune's fight to help with their training later.

Mostly though, there were stirrings of something significantly more primal as Pyrrha felt her pulse quicken and her blood boil. The cutlery around the entire cafeteria gave a brief violent shake, unnoticed by all.

 **XXX**

The RDL of Team CRDL paused in complete shock, much like everyone else. Jaune made the mistake of not capitalizing on it, a mistake Pyrrha would chastise him for later, and so Dove was the first to recover.

The mohawked boy knew he wasn't very good in hand to hand, so reached for the first thing he could channel aura through to use as a weapon: a baguette. Shrugging mentally, Dove broke the bread in half, and wielding it like his signature daggers, lunged to get inside Jaune's guard.

JNPR's leader nearly lost his balance, arms flailing as he scrambled out of the way and reached for the first things he could use as improvised weapon: a serving platter and a matching baguette. Jaune grinned as he held the bread aloft. "Behold, Panera Mors!"

Thinking quickly, Jaune brought up the serving platter as a shield, deflecting Dove's attempt to strike him. Planting his feet firmly, braced against the platter and pushed, knocking Dove back, and giving him room to dodge as Russel and Sky finally entered the fray.

Russel was wielding a swordfish, of all things, like a claymore as he sought to bash Jaune over the head. Sky was staying at range, channeling his aura into every throwable piece of fruit he could find, and was taking potshots at the blonde.

Most of the fruit bounced off his improvised shield, but one lucky hit managed to find his knee cap, causing his leg to buckle and leaving him open for Russel's follow up overhead strike. Jaune deflected part of the blow with his shield, but was still jarred by the impact.

Realizing that Sky was currently the biggest threat of his three opponents, Jaune struck out with a quick slash of his baguette to create space before leaping into the air and using his serving platter as a surf board to reach his target at the other end of CRDL's table, snatching up a rope of sausage links as he went.

Sky had a moment for his eyes to widen in disbelief, pausing mid throw as Jaune raced toward him and that was all the opportunity the knight needed.

He leapt from the end of the table, crouched on his serving platter surf board. Luckily for the knight, the sunlight streaming in from the windows reflected off the bottom of his makeshift transportation, blinding his opponent. This meant Sky was unable to react, despite having a clear shot, and Jaune executed a flying kick right into his target, reinforced with the serving platter.

Sky fell to his knees, and Jaune used his considerable dancing skills to turn his fall into a backward roll across the table, barely managing to avoid getting tangled up in Link Shroud. With a running leap, and a mighty, overhead slash courtesy of Panera Mors, Sky was now officially out of the fight. "Time to take a page out of Blake's book. Let's see how I do with Link Shroud," Jaune announced.

Russel and Dove had not been idle during Jaune's skirmish. Russel had grabbed a serving platter of his own to use as a shield, though it was evident by his stance that he had absolutely no idea how to use it.

Jaune noticed his uneven foot placement, and sought to capitalize on it by swiping out with Link Shroud. Unfortunately, he did not have Blake's experience wielding such a weapon and so his attempt to take Russel's legs out from under him merely struck his shoe.

Dove chose that moment to remind Jaune of his presence and once again close with him. Jaune's guard was compromised with his missed strike and so Dove had all the opening he needed to land a clean blow to Jaune's side, sending him sliding belly first across CRDL's table.

Jaune's arms flailed as he sought to grab onto something and halt his momentum. Luckily, Link Shroud became wrapped around the leg of the head of the table due to Jaune's flailing, bleeding off some of his momentum. _Un_ fortunately, his off-hand became stuck in a whole turkey during his uncoordinated flailing slide, meaning he couldn't use it to stop himself.

Jaune only had a moment to wonder _'What kind of school cafeteria serves whole turkeys to students?! I mean come on!'_ before he found himself sliding right into Russel's new shield. Luckily, he led with his new turkey accessory, and didn't hurt his head. That didn't stop him from crashing into Russel in a tangle of limbs, however.

Jaune recovered first, having landed atop Russel, and managed to create enough distance to untangle Link Shroud. Since Russel would be down for a bit, Jaune turned to face Dove, who had made his way toward Jaune to assist his team mate.

When Dove was close enough that he couldn't possibly miss, Jaune lashed out with Link Shroud, wrapping it around the boy's waist. He began to turn, using the momentum restrain his target briefly before a flick of his wrist sent the boy spinning away to crash into the table, with Jaune in close pursuit.

While this was going on, Russel regained his bearings and decided to use his enemy's tactics against him. Setting his pilfered tray half on the edge of the table, Russel backed up and got a running start to build his momentum and use his serving platter as a surf board.

Sadly, for the poor member of Team CRDL, Oum was not smiling on him today. Just as the boy landed on the edge of his new transportation, Dove crashed into him, sending the unlucky racist spring boarding into the air.

Jaune had a moment to notice this and make a hasty decision to try to end the fight now. He abandoned Link Shroud, and just as Russel began to fall back down, Jaune used an aura assisted jump from the table to meet the boy half way in the air and deliver a punishing uppercut to his face. "Get a taste of Poultry Celica, Russel!"

The aura infused blow destroyed Jaune's "weapon" but the extra force meant that when Russel finally came crashing down onto the table, he was out of the fight. Jaune landed a bit awkwardly, rolling his ankle, but he quickly turned to Dove.

The boy was groggily trying to rise, and had just enough time to realize Jaune was upon him when Jaune's punch sent him careening into unconsciousness.

 **XXX**

Cardin Winchester was fully convinced he was trapped in some sort of Grimm induced nightmare. He returned to the realm of consciousness to find his team somehow being defeated by Jaune Arc of all people. Jaune. Arc. It made absolutely no sense that the guy who could barely swing a sword last semester had improved so much in such a short time!

Nevertheless, Cardin could not deny it as first Sky, then Russel and Dove were soundly beaten. It was Pyrrha Nikos all over again!

The team leader's confusion and anger quickly gave way to uncertainty and fear when Jaune approached him.

Though his uniform had several food stains from his uncontrolled table slide, it did not detract from the deathly serious look in the blonde's eyes.

"Get up, Cardin," Jaune said.

Cardin stumbled to his feet, and Jaune led the bully at baguette point to his friends' table.

"Now you are going to apologize," Jaune stated, tone promising more violence if Cardin refused.

Faced with the combined glares of two of the strongest teams of their year, Cardin was left with little choice but to capitulate.

He stared his latest victim in the eyes, and everyone could almost see him fight down his disgust to deliver a not-so-heartfelt apology to the Faunus girl.

Jaune looked over as Sky and Dove began to stir from their unplanned naps.

"Looks like your friends are waking up Cardin. Take them with you and remember that the next time we hear about you doing something like this I'm getting Nora and Pyrrha to break your team's legs. Yang will help."

As Cardin and his team began to shuffle from the lunchroom, Jaune couldn't resist one final parting shot: See you around, Team Piñata."

Once CRDL left, the table erupted in excited babble as everyone tried to talk at once. The atmosphere around the table was incredibly positive, hopeful, and relaxed.

Until a glob of mashed potatoes somehow fell from the ceiling and landed in Yang's hair.

The resulting RWBY JNPR food fight was worthy of a Mistralian Epic.

 **XXX**

It had been several weeks since The Food Fight of Legend, and aside from nearly getting detention until they managed to graduate, not much had changed for Teams RWBY and JNPR.

Team RWBY still managed to get themselves involved in crazy situations involving criminals. Ren and Nora kept insisting they were not "together-together. No one really believed them.

One of the only things that did change was the surprisingly fast friendship between Yang, Nora, and Penny. The three Huntresses-in-Training met up on the weekends usually to just sit around and talk, discussing everything from music, to boys, to Atlas standard interrogation techniques. Yang and Nora even tried to take Penny clubbing once, however quickly realized that between the two of them they had been blacklisted from every decent club in the city. Poor Ren's Nora Sense went crazy that week.

While all this was going on, Jaune and Pyrrha did their best to keep up with their individual training and studying. They still trained together every night, helping to refine each other's techniques, and improve their over-all skills.

Most often they would stay on the roof until just before curfew, relaxing and talking after their post workout showers.

Currently, the JP of JNPR laid on the dorm roof side-by-side, staring up at the stars. The silence was as comfortable as it always was, and both were loath to break it, but Pyrrha had something she had to say.

"I'm proud of you, Jaune, Pyrrha stated softly, turning to smile at her partner.

"Really? What did I do?" Jaune couldn't stop himself from asking.

"You've really improved these last few weeks. Ever since your fight with Team CRDL, you've done much better in Combat Class and our team tactics have even improved," Pyrrha said.

"Is that your way of thanking me for spending time coming up with better team formation names?" Jaune asked with a grin.

"Hmmm...perhaps," Pyrrha giggled. "Really though, Jaune, there's been a definite boost in your confidence since you won against CRDL and I'm very glad to see it."

"It's funny you mention that actually," Jaune said with a rueful grin, "I've been thinking about it a lot lately and I think I finally have the answer to the question I've been asking myself."

"What question is that, Jaune?" Pyrrha turned to face her partner.

"Why I was such an idiot," Jaune stated without preamble.

"Jaune Arc, you are not- "Pyrrha began, only to be cut off by her partner.

"Let me finish please. Yes, I was an idiot. Just because I don't remember doing it doesn't mean I didn't fraudulently enter a school for Huntsmen with almost no combat training, because I wanted to be a hero. We're training to kill creatures that will stop at nothing to wipe us all from the face of Remnant, and I somehow apparently expected to get by with my brain and my family heirloom," Jaune couldn't keep the mockery out of his tone.

"Then, I was dumb enough to shun you when you reached out and did your best to help me. According to Ruby I even let Cardin blackmail me! _Cardin!_ I mean, come on! So, I've been racking my brain trying my best to figure out _why_ I could possibly be so stupid and I believe I have an answer," Jaune said softly, turning his head toward his partner.

"And what did you discover?" Pyrrha queried.

"Well remember the memory I shared with everyone in the library about my father telling me stories of our history?" He took Pyrrha's quiet hum as an affirmative.

"Well I think I wanted to be a hero for all the wrong reasons. Growing up on stories like that, where the hero triumphs alone with only the strength of his shield and his skill with a blade," Jaune mocked, "They gave me this completely idealized view of heroes. They were always these amazing warriors doing amazing things seemingly with little effort. And I had a whole lineage full of them?"

Jaune couldn't help the bitter, sarcastic laugh that escaped him. "I bet I drove myself absolutely crazy trying to live up to this amazing fantasy of being a hero and the overblown legacy of my ancestors. It's no wonder I didn't have any confidence in myself, if that's what I was trying to live up to! Anyone would be crushed under the weight of such a thing!"

Jaune's next words nearly stopped Pyrrha's breath.

"You saved me," Jaune stated with a happy grin.

Pyrrha turned to him, eyes wide. "W-what?"

You saved me," Jaune repeated, "You saw potential in me when no one else did, and took it upon yourself to train me when no one else would. You didn't laugh at my hopes and dreams and did whatever you could to support me even when I was being a macho idiot that didn't deserve your kindness."

The blonde gave a mirthful chuckle, eyes bright in the reflected moonlight.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry for being an idiot, and thank you for saving me." Jaune said with a smile.

Pyrrha turned to her partner, eyes equally bright. "You saved me first," she whispered.

Jaune's eyebrows rose at that declaration. "Really?"

"Yes," Pyrrha stated bluntly, "I have been blessed with amazing abilities and people have always praised me for them. The problem is that when people place you on a pedestal, you stop being a person in their eyes."

The Mistral Champion's eyes shown with barely repressed tears. "I did not have a single friend before coming to Beacon. Everyone, even many of my own family, saw me as nothing more than a way to advance themselves."

Pyrrha suddenly laughed, bright and cheerful.

"But you didn't. You were the first person I've met who treated me like a regular person. You didn't care about my fame, or my tournament wins, or my money. And through you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. Ren, Nora, Team RWBY," Pyrrha beamed at her partner, "So thank you, Jaune Arc for being the hero that rescued me from my pedestal."

Jaune snorted a laugh. "Okay, let's just both agree we are mutually awesome heroes and leave it at that. I'm still sorry for being dumb enough to think I would spontaneously develop fighting skills accepting your offer though."

Pyrrha giggled. "Everyone has to start somewhere. Even me."

Jaune let out a mock gasp. "You mean to tell me that you weren't simply _born_ this awesome, Ms. Nikos? Whatever will your fans say?"

Pyrrha rolled onto her side to lightly punch her partner's shoulder before continuing her story. "The first time I was learning to stab with a training spear, it got stuck in the training dummy. When I tried to pull it out, I ended up stumbling face first into the training dummy and smacking myself in the head."

Jaune laughed. "That is both hilarious and adorable."

When the words registered, Pyrrha was certain her blush could be seen from the shattered moon. "R-really?" She couldn't keep the spark of hope out of her tone. She inched forward, slightly, fingertips nearly touching Jaune's.

"Yeah," Jaune whispered, "Definitely adorable."

"O-oh." The redhead could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

Hey, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, turning to face his partner directly.

"Yes, Jaune?" Pyrrha's tone was unusually nervous, though these were unusual circumstances for her.

"There's a dance coming up next week, and if I remember correctly, I owe you a date…"

 **XXX**

None of their friends were surprised when the members of Team JNPR showed up on the arms of their respective partners. Yang's boisterous cry of "Way to get that Arc booty, P-Money!" was met with much embarrassment. Blake was mostly apathetic but seemed genuinely happy for them. Ruby thought they looked great together, and Weiss just seemed relieved.

What no one expected though was Team JNPR's awesome dance skills. They had such amazing teamwork that they were able to burst into a completely spontaneous synchronized dance routine, much to the enjoyment of everyone.

Eventually, Pyrrha and Jaune decided to take a break from owning the dance floor to get some air. They stood out on the balcony, basking in the cool evening breeze.

"I've had a lot of fun tonight, Jaune. Thank you for asking me." Pyrrha said, laying her head on her partner's shoulder.

Jaune didn't say anything at first, merely placing his arm about her shoulders.

"I'm glad I did. I knew I had to act fast if I didn't want to have to fight every other guy in Beacon for a chance to date the most beautiful girl on campus."

Pyrrha slugged his shoulder, but her face matched her hair. "That's kind of you to say, Jaune."

He turned to her, shock plain on his face. "You don't think you are?" Jaune asked.

"Well, I know that most find me physically attractive. I've had quite a few modeling opportunities sent my way after all. But I highly doubt I'm the most beautiful girl on campus, Pyrrha said, embarrassed, "I've seen the way boys stare at Yang or Weiss after all."

Jaune laughed. "Well they're pretty, sure, but I'm not just talking about your looks."

Pyrrha turned to face her date, leaning her back against the metal railing of the balcony and resting her left arm against it, the question plain on her face.

Jaune did not keep her waiting.

"You aren't just beautiful because of your looks, Pyrrha. You are also kind to a fault. You are strong, and intelligent, and always seem to want to see the best in people."

Pyrrha's smile would've been able to light Vale for a whole year it was so bright. "R-really?"

"Yes, really," Jaune said softly as he leaned in toward his partner, "And it certainly doesn't hurt your eyes are a beautiful vibrant green. Your hair is more beautiful than a bougainvillea blossom, and I bet your lips are softer than silk."

"Softer than silk?" Pyrrha asked, voice barely above a whisper as tilted her head slightly up, toward her partner, "How do you know?"

"That is an excellent question Ms. Nikos, Jaune said, voice little more than a husky whisper as he leaned in closer, "I suppose there's really only one way to find out…"

As first kisses went, it was adorably awkward.

They ended up bumping noses at first, neither realizing that they had to tilt their head slightly to avoid that. It was sloppy too since it took them a few tries to figure out how to move their lips.

Luckily, they were both smart enough to realize that they should breathe through their nose.

Eventually, they found a rhythm, and quickly progressed to a full make-out session.

Jaune's arms tightened around her, and Pyrrha's right hand snaked its way into Jaune's hair. The other was bracing her against the railing. Pyrrha began to let out moans of ecstasy as Jaune's tongue tangled with hers. She was fairly convinced she was seeing stars even though her eyes were closed. She was nearly overwhelmed by the feel of his strong chest pressed so intimately against hers, and scent of his body soap mixed with something so undeniably _Jaune_ she almost felt like fainting.

The shaking and warping of the railing beneath Pyrrha's grip went completely ignored.

For his part, Jaune was experiencing much the same, except for one crucial difference: He was quickly discovering that head trauma is not the only way to overwhelm and scramble a mind. He knew this because when they finally did surface for air, several minutes later, there was a light to his eyes, a certain heaviness that had not been there for weeks.

'Pyrrha," Jaune whispered, "I remember…everything."

 **XXX**

While Jaune and Pyrrha were off expanding the boundaries of their partnership, Ruby was busy trying not to be noticed by the punch bowl.

' _Stupid lady stilts! What am I even doing here?'_ The young girl wondered, not for the first time that evening. Her melancholic attempts to drink her own weight in punch were brought to a halt by a familiar voice.

"Hello Friend Ruby!" Penny greeted as she joined the young Huntress by the punch bowl. "This has been a most enjoyable evening! I've never been to a dance before! Are you having fun, Ruby?  
Ruby let out a forced chuckle, scratching the back of her head as she struggled not to fall over from the simple act of standing. "Not really, Penny. Parties aren't really my thing. Too many people…"

"Oh," Penny looked momentarily disappointed before brightening, "Then would you like to 'get out of here' perhaps? Maybe 'get some air'?"

"Yeah, Penny, that sounds like a great idea!" Ruby said, expression lifting only to become confused as she realized something. "Why did you ask it like that though? Like you were saying one thing but meant something else?"

Now it was Penny's turn to be confused. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Ruby. Yang and Nora taught me those phrases so that I would 'know when someone wanted to get away for a little private fun' and relax.' And you did say that parties were not to your liking, yes?"

"Oh, Oum," Ruby muttered, burying her face in her palm, "You learned that from _Yang?!_ Now, I'm afraid to know the answer."

That fear did not stop Ruby from wobbling her way toward the door as quickly as womanly possible, Penny trailing in her wake.

They were barely outside a few minutes when Ruby's keen eyes and Penny's sensors picked up something worrying: A woman dressed in an outfit fit for stealth and thievery making her way across the rooftops and toward the CCT Tower.

The two shared a brief nod before deciding to follow her.

 **XXX**

Up on their balcony, Jaune and Pyrrha were just starting to catch their breath.

"Jaune, you really remember!" Pyrrha exclaimed, eyes bright with barely repressed joy as she realized her partner had returned to her completely.

Jaune's bright smile could outshine the sun, "Yeah, Pyr, I really remember everything."

Pyrrha thought furiously for how best to play this to her advantage.

After months of heartache watching the guy she liked pursue someone else; The emotional rollercoaster of having to get to know him all over again; and the dizzying high of having him return her feelings right before regaining his lost memories meant that there was no way she was going to settle for only a taste of the baklava when she could have the whole thing. Pyrrha Nikos was tired of waiting.

She was going to ride this airship all the way to Atlas.

The question was, how to go about it?

Should she come on strong?

Try to be subtle?

Eventually Pyrrha just mentally shrugged and decided to fall back on her arena instincts.

Strike quickly while your opponent is confused.

"Jaune," Pyrrha said with a yawn and a stretch, "I'm a bit tired of dancing, why don't we get some training in while we have the time?"

"Um, sure?" Jaune asked more than stated.

"Great!" Pyrrha chirped, tone unusually bright, "Let's head back to the dorm so we can work on grappling!"

The Mistral Champion grabbed his hand, and began to drag him downstairs. "Wait, Pyr! Why are we practicing in the room? Don't you think it would be better doing it on the roof?"

"Not for what I have in mind~" Pyrrha caroled, glancing over her shoulder at her partner, eyes dark and smoldering.

If Jaune had a bit more experience, he would have been able to correctly identify the gaze as _'I want you to wear me like a circlet'._ Instead the blonde just gave a slight shrug as his partner dragged him away,

 **XXX**

Ruby and Penny tracked their mysterious quarry to Vale's CCT Tower. What they found was rather worrying: The guards had been knocked out, and lay scattered around the entrance.

Ruby checked their vitals and Penny scanned the immediate area, sensors on full alert.

The Reaper sighed in relief when she found a pulse. The guards were alive, if a little banged up.

"This isn't good. Whoever they are, if they could take out all these soldiers without killing them, then they must have Huntsman training," Ruby stated as she used her scroll to call her Rocket Locker, "We're the only ones that have a chance of capturing this person. We need to hurry.

"Agreed, Ruby," Penny's tone was quite serious, "My sensors indicate that someone is using the elevator to travel to the main server on the top floor."

Ruby unleashed Crescent Rose with a flourish, checking her ammo stock before putting her dreaded heels in her locker. "You ready for this?" RWBYs leader asked, turning to her friend.

"Don't worry Friend Ruby!" Penny's wide, bright smile was completely at odds with their current situation, "I am ready to apprehend our target! And I just used my emergency alert program to send an alert to my father. He should arrive with backup soon."

With another shared nod, the girls rushed into the building in pursuit of their target.

 **XXX**

Yang Xiao Long was having a great night. The Beacon Dance was a great success. Her adorable sister was off socializing with friends, and her partner had just arrived bearing offerings of cookies and punch. Clearly this night couldn't get any better.

"Hey there, Blake-y! Had fun dancing with Mr. Buttons Optional down there? You've got good taste at least. That is some premium man candy."

Blake smirked as she handed over a cup of punch. "I seem to be surrounding myself with over-enthusiastic blondes with exhibitionist wardrobes. I guess this is my life now."

Yang laughed even as she stuffed several cookies into her mouth in a move that would have made her younger sister proud.

"That's the spirit, Blake-y! We'll make an extravert out of you yet!" The blonde boxer exclaimed, pulling her partner in for a quick side hug.

"Judging by how tired all this socializing and dancing has made me, that day will never come. Want to get out of here and get some air?" the introvert asked, indicating the stairs to the balcony with a tilt of her head.

Yang let out a mock gasp, clutching her heart in dramatic fashion, "Blake, this is so sudden! I had no idea you felt this way about me!"

Blake's answering expression of deadpan seriousness could have been made into a meme.

"Do you want to take a break from playing hostess or not?" Blake asked, starting up the stairs.

"Okay, okay, "Yang laughed, "a break does sound nice."

As the BY of RWBY made their way up the stairs, Blakes nose twitched in agitation.

Her Faunus senses were assaulted by the traces of tangy musk in the air that indicated the presence of students likely doing things they shouldn't.

Blake read enough erotica to know where this was going.

"Looks like you may have to wait a little bit longer for that break," Blake murmured with a tap of her nose, "I think someone is having a bit too much fun."

Yang grinned, even as she schooled her expression into something approaching serious. She palmed her scroll, preparing to obtain choice blackmail material, depending on who they found on the balcony.

She honestly hoped it was Weiss; she _really_ needed to loosen up in Yang's opinion.

Blake reached the top of the stairs first and stared in utter fascination. "I didn't know Headmaster Ozpin gave you permission to redecorate to such extremes. How'd you get Weiss to agree to it?"

"Agree to what?" Yang asked, peering around her partner at the balcony ahead.

Now it was Yang's turn to stop and stare.

Somehow, the metal railing of the balcony had become twisted and warped until it was all fused together in one piece that stood straight up, pointing toward the shattered moon...

A monolith that was a very anatomically accurate representation of male anatomy.

Yang turned to her partner and shrugged. "Well, that's a thing…"

Blake sighed, and barely resisted the urge to facepalm. "I'll call Professor Goodwitch…"

 **XXX**

Penny and Ruby were currently using the computer consoles near the elevator as cover as their target attempted to fill them full of glass arrows.

The duo had arrived to see the woman doing _something_ to the CCT mainframe, and tried to get her to surrender peacefully.

Negotiations quickly broke down, which led them to their current predicament.

"Ruby!" Penny whisper yelled over the incoming fire, "I have a plan but I need you to distract her for a few minutes while I get into position!"

Ruby gave a nod, preparing her sniper-scythe for suppressing fire. "Do you think it will work?"

Penny smiled her trademark innocent grin. "Do not worry, Ruby! I calculate an 89.6% chance of success based on the information I obtained from Yang and Nora during our 'girl talk' and I have every confidence that this will succeed."

Ruby paled. "Wait, you're basing this on stuff Yang and Nora told you?!"

But Penny was already moving, leaving Ruby with little choice but to sigh and provide covering fire for her partner.

 **XXX**

Cinder Fall was not having a good day. Her plan had started out well enough, and she had just gotten into the servers when everything began to go wrong.

Who should show up to foil her plans but that annoying girl with the scythe and her friend.

' _Honestly,'_ Cinder thought as she ducked behind a console to avoid Ruby's return fire, ' _Maybe Roman has a point about these kids…'_

It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have to avoid damaging the tower too much. Unfortunately, this part of her master plan required the tower to be fully operational. As if that wasn't enough, she couldn't afford to kill the brats! The death of academy students would draw far too much scrutiny on herself and her assets in the city. Everything could come unraveled.

With her options limited, her vision blocked by her cover, and the stress of trying to think of a way to complete her nefarious objective, Cinder was caught completely by surprise when Penny suddenly sprang her trap.

 **XXX**

Penny's wire swords were special. She could control several of them at one time, using them to attack, defend, and even charge up a devastating beam attack. What many didn't know, outside the military labs of Atlas, was that Penny could control the wires sans death blades and extend them out along the ground to use as a convenient restraint device to capture a target.

After Penny had managed to use the computer consoles as cover and get in position behind the hostile target, she sent her wires snaking along the ground as quickly as she could and when she judged them close enough, channeled enough aura through them for the first two wires to wrap around her target's ankles and lift her into the air.

The mystery assailant had just enough time to catch an upside-down view of her ginger haired attacker when more wires joined the first.

The next set latched onto her wrists, restraining them as her arms were forced behind her back, pointing down toward her legs. Another set looped themselves around either side of her body, starting at her feet, and continuing to her shoulder blades before crossing themselves and continuing to wrap firmly around her thighs, forcing her legs to bend at the knee as they were forced as apart as they would go.

The final set completed the maneuver by splitting off after reaching her shoulders. The first wrapped itself firmly around her chest, nearly crushing her breasts as it wrapped itself firmly around her and joined its brethren in their mutual purpose. The final wire travelled down the valley of the target's cleavage, snaking itself up her back, pressing firmly against the target's most sensitive areas.

The wires finally tied themselves into a neat bow, leaving the villain suspended in mid-air like Remnant's most lascivious Dustmas present.

 **XXX**

Cinder had just a moment to begin to reach for her aura and destroy her restraints, consequences be damned, when she felt the wires change. Where before they were merely restraining, they suddenly developed a razor like edge. She could feel it biting into her skin despite her own aura and the Dust infused leather of her outfit.

Considering the eyes of her captor, Cinder knew that the only thing keeping the wires from doing damage was the girl's will. She may be able to focus her powers enough to escape, but likely not before the wires nicked several arteries. She would bleed out if that happened, aura be damned.

Like it or not, she was faced with the reality that her captor could cut her a myriad of ways any time she felt like it.

Or rend her into quarters.

 **XXX**

"What do you think of my new enhanced capture technique, Friend Ruby?" Penny asked with another wide smile, eyes alight with childish glee, "I found it in one of the books that Yang let me borrow. It had some most interesting restraint techniques that I was quite eager to try!"

Ruby sighed. "I don't really know, Penny. It was probably from one of Blake's books, and none of the others will let me read those yet. It looks effective though."

"Sensational!" Penny cried in glee, "I'm glad I could be of assistance! We should probably start the interrogation though. It'll help make thing easier for my father when he arrives." She paused momentarily, head tilted to the side as if listening to something far off. "According to my sensors, my father should be here in the next few minutes."

"Right," Ruby gave a firm nod, before trying to school her expression into something vaguely resembling anger, but really just made her look like a frustrated puppy "Who are you?! What do you want?! Why are you doing this?! Answer me!"

Their target just stared at her impassively, completely unimpressed by the young girl's attempts at intimidation.

"Ruby," Penny called, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Perhaps I should try? Yang and Nora helped coach me on things to say to bad people that wanted to hurt me or anyone I cared about."

The Reaper shrugged. "Sure, Penny, it's your show." Honestly, the girl had had her doubts, but the last thing that Nora and Yang helped Penny plan went well enough. What's the worst that could happen?

"Thank you, my friend," The Atlassian girl replied, before turning to her target, wide smile still in place.

Suddenly, a chest plate opened on Penny's torso, revealing a small, charged green beam of death.

"I need you to answer our questions, please." The Huntress stated, tone bright and cheerful as she smiled her childish grin.

"Or is Penny going to have to choke a bitch?" Penny continued, tone still light. "Because Penny will mother fucking choke a bitch."

 **XXX**

Luckily for Cinder, she was saved from being eviscerated by the timely arrival of convenient witnesses. Sadly, for her, the witnesses were General James Ironwood, and a squad of Atlas soldiers.

"Hello, Daddy!" Penny exclaimed, deactivating her death cannon, and turning to wave cheerfully to one of her fathers.

"Penny," James said with a sigh, reaching up to massage his temples where a headache was already beginning to form, "Could you explain to me exactly what is going on here?"

Behind him, the group of soldiers just stared.

 **XXX**

With the capture of Cinder, plans began to unravel quickly. Hunters were mobilized from across the kingdoms to capture her agents. Mercury and Emerald broke quickly, spilling everything they knew under Penny's new "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques".

This led to the capturing of Roman, and Neo, as well as several White Fang agents working with them.

Adam Taurus was killed by the combined efforts of Qrow Branwen and Winter Schnee when he tried to stage a failed attack on Vale during the Vytal Festival.

Faced with undeniable proof of an enemy that could control Grimm, the Kingdoms mobilized together in the largest military campaign in Remnant's history. They proceeded to wipe Salem's little hide away off the face of Remnant.

With the death of its mistress, the Grimm insect inside Cinder reacted violently, detonating in a concentrated explosion so hot, she was reduced to ashes.

Cinder's death resulted in Amber getting her full powers back and making a full recovery.

She proceeded to test the limits of that recovery with Qrow in a small villa in Mistral vigorously during a month-long vacation.

Pyrrha and Jaune eventually emerged from their dorm days after the dance sporting the pale skin and dorky smiles of the completely dehydrated yet immensely satisfied. They were also very much a couple.

Nora had the home-made banner to prove it.

Watching his friends finally stop dancing around each other gave Ren the courage to make a move and ask Nora if she wanted to be "together-together."

The Valkyrie's excited shouts of "Yes!" could be heard on Patch.

Blake decided to both complicate and simplify her life. If she was going to surround herself with hot, troublesome blondes, why not make the most of it? Luckily, Yang and Sun had very similar personalities and got along well. And even when the three had disagreements, kissing, and making up was always fun.

Weiss eventually managed to weasel a date out of Neptune. He introduced her to his team and the sparks flew. During some drunken shenanigans with a few of Sage's friends from Atlas, passions were stoked and Weiss discovered that she was able to love several people.

Vigorously and at the same time. Why settle for one man, when she could have seven?

And Ruby? Ruby never did get to read any of Blake's books.

There was one part of Cinder's scheme that managed to go off without a hitch. One of the soldiers present during her capture recorded video of it with his scroll and posted it on the CCT.

The resultant scroll traffic and massive download spike managed to crash the severs of every CCT Tower across the Kingdoms.

For a full 24 hours.

Eventually, with the death of Salem, no more Grimm could be created, which meant that Huntsmen and Huntresses were just mopping up for the next few years. With the threat of the Grimm eradicated, the Kingdoms turned their efforts toward finally making actual strides toward equality with the Faunus half of Remnant's population.

There was much rejoicing.

But perhaps most important of all…

Nothing bad ever happened. Ever.


End file.
